Eid Party - III

Banoo Apa praises Zarina's culinary skills

Zarina personally attends to guests

It may rain or it may not; but it surely is raining Eid parties at the Garden this year. Mallika Kagzi was the first to host one on the very day of Eid-ul-Fitr (ref post of July 18). Four days later, Fehmida Khan followed suit (ref post of July 22). Today, it was Zarina Khan’s turn.
It was a lavish spread – a variety of scrumptious crispies and fries, accompanied by fresh-from-the-oven pao, to be washed down with a glass of absolutely divine sheer korma. Zarina could as well have picked up most of the stuff from the market as many of us do.

Shekhawat celebrates his
son's success with a TV soap,
Bhabiji Ghar Par Hai! 

But she stayed up all night (“I did not sleep a wink,” she informed) to prepare them and the labour of her love was evident in every item served.
Yusuf Rassiwala was so taken in by the lip-smacking sheer korma that he kept guiding all and sundry to take repeated refills. Fehmida was seen struggling to fill two glasses (on the request of her friends) only to find the glasses repeatedly disappearing by the time she was done. In the end she gave up. “What to do?” she complained. “I had taken out four glasses this time and when I was filling the fourth, a fat man came from the Garden, finished off the other three glasses and walked away!”
Another man (also a non-member) dropped by to selectively pick a few crispies, stuffed his mouth in front of everybody, and continued with his walk round the Garden. “How could I stop him?” said Swati Punjabi, who was helping with the distribution of food. “I don’t even know him.” But she was more than obliging towards members requesting repeat helpings and of course, those who wanted to carry some extra stuff home.
Being a week-end and with many new and rarely-seen faces showing up, the China Hut had a wonderful festive buzz about it. That it did not rain so ferociously today also added to the free-wheeling, fun-filled atmosphere.
Bihari Milwani:
Zarina ka jadoo chal gaya, Arora-ji ka gussa dhal gaya!